KR100793457B1 - Plasma reactor having multi discharging chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

Plasma reactors with multiple discharge chambers are published. The plasma reactor with multiple discharge chambers of the present invention includes a generator body having a plurality of independent plasma discharge chambers. The generator body is coupled to a transformer for delivering electromotive force for plasma discharge to the plasma discharge chamber. The transformer has a magnetic core and a primary winding installed across the plasma discharge chamber. The magnetic core portion located inside the plasma discharge chamber is entirely wrapped and protected by the core protection tube. The primary winding is electrically connected to a power source providing radio frequency power. According to the plasma reactor having multiple discharge chambers, the plasma reactor has a plurality of magnetic core cross sections located inside the plasma discharge chamber, so that the transfer efficiency of inductive coupling energy coupled to the plasma is very high. Moreover, since a plurality of plasma discharge chambers are arranged in multiple stages, it is possible to easily obtain a high density plasma without excessive increase in radio frequency power.

Inductively Coupled Plasma, Plasma Treatment, Active Gas

Description

Plasma reactor with multiple discharge chambers {PLASMA REACTOR HAVING MULTI DISCHARGING CHAMBER}

In order to more fully understand the drawings used in the detailed description of the invention, a brief description of each drawing is provided.

1 is a perspective view of a plasma reactor of the present invention.

2A and 2B are front and side cross-sectional views of the plasma reactor of FIG. 1.

3 is an exploded perspective view for showing a core protection tube and a cooling tube mounted to the magnetic core.

4A and 4B are sectional views showing the core protection tube and the cooling tube of the magnetic core mounted.

5A-5C are front cross-sectional views showing various variations of the gas flow path.

6A and 6B are bottom perspective views showing embodiments of the gas outlet.

7 illustrates an example in which a plasma generator is mounted in a process chamber.

8A-8D are diagrams showing variations of the plasma generator.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

10: plasma reactor 20: reactor body

30: gas distribution unit 40: transformer

41: magnetic core 42: primary winding

The present invention relates to a plasma source for generating an active gas containing ions, free radicals, atoms and molecules by plasma discharge, and performing plasma treatment of solids, powders, and gases with the active gas. A plasma reactor having a seal is provided.

Plasma discharges are used for gas excitation to generate active gases containing ions, free radicals, atoms, molecules. The active gas is widely used in various fields and is typically used in various semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etching, deposition, and cleaning.

In recent years, wafers and LCD glass substrates for the manufacture of semiconductor devices are becoming larger. Therefore, there is a demand for a plasma source having a high controllability with respect to plasma ion energy and having a large-area processing capacity.

There are a number of plasma sources for generating plasma, such as capacitively coupled plasma using radio frequency and inductively coupled plasma. Among them, inductively coupled plasma sources are known to be suitable for obtaining high-density plasma because they can increase ion density relatively easily with increasing radio frequency power.

However, the inductively coupled plasma method uses a very high voltage driving coil because the energy coupled to the plasma is lower than that of the supplied energy. As a result, the ion energy is so high that the inner surface of the plasma reactor is damaged by ion bombardment. Damage to the internal surface of the plasma reactor by ion bombardment not only shortens the lifetime of the plasma reactor, but also has negative consequences of acting as a plasma treatment contaminant. When the ion energy is to be lowered, the energy bound to the plasma is low, so that frequent plasma discharge is turned off. Therefore, a problem arises that it is difficult to maintain stable plasma.

On the other hand, the use of remote plasma in the process using the plasma in the semiconductor manufacturing process is known to be very useful. For example, it is usefully used in cleaning process chambers and ashing processes for photoresist strips. However, as the size of the substrate to be processed increases, the volume of the process chamber is also increasing, and a plasma source capable of sufficiently remotely supplying high density active gas is required. This is especially true for multiple processing chambers that process multiple substrates simultaneously.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma reactor having multiple discharge chambers capable of stably maintaining plasma and stably obtaining high-density plasma by increasing the transfer efficiency of inductive coupling energy coupled to the plasma.

One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem relates to a plasma reactor having a multiple discharge chamber. A plasma reactor having multiple discharge chambers of the present invention comprises: a generator body having a plurality of independent plasma discharge chambers; A transformer having a magnetic core and a primary winding installed across the plasma discharge chamber; A core protection tube surrounding and protecting the magnetic core portion positioned inside the plasma discharge chamber; And a power supply connected to the primary winding, wherein the current is driven by the power supply, the driving current of the primary winding forming an inductively coupled plasma that completes the secondary circuit of the transformer. Inductively coupled plasma is formed in the plasma discharge chamber to surround the outside of the core protection tube.

In one embodiment, a gas inlet connected to at least one plasma discharge chamber and a gas outlet connected to at least one other plasma discharge chamber are included, and a connection passage interconnecting the two plasma discharge chambers is included.

In one embodiment, the reactor body comprises a gas collection region in communication with at least two chamber connection passages.

In one embodiment, it includes a gas distribution unit for evenly distributing the gas to the water inlet.

In one embodiment, there are multiple discharge chambers comprising two or more separate multiple gas outlets.

In one embodiment, the generator body comprises a metal material and the metal material includes one or more electrically insulating regions to have electrical discontinuities in the metal material to minimize eddy currents.

In one embodiment, the core protective tube has multiple discharge chambers comprising a dielectric material.

In one embodiment, the core protection tube comprises a metal material, and the metal material includes one or more electrically insulating regions to have electrical discontinuities in the metal material to minimize eddy currents.

In one embodiment, there is a multiple discharge chamber including a coolant supply channel installed inside the core protection tube.

In one embodiment, the cooling water supply channel comprises a metal material and the metal material includes one or more electrically insulating regions to have electrical discontinuities in the metal material to minimize eddy currents.

In one embodiment, a cooling water supply channel is formed through a central portion of the magnetic core.

In one embodiment, an impedance matching circuit is configured between the power supply and the primary winding to perform impedance matching.

In one embodiment, the power supply operates without an adjustable matching circuit.

In one embodiment, the method further includes a process chamber for receiving and receiving plasma gas generated from the generator body.

In one embodiment, the generator body has a structure that can be mounted in a process chamber, the power source has a structure that is physically separated from the generator body, and the power source and the generator body are remotely connected by a power connection cable.

In one embodiment, the gas flowing into the plasma discharge chamber is selected from the group comprising an inert gas, a reactive gas, and a mixed gas of an inert gas and a reactive gas.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In order to fully understand the present invention, the operational advantages of the present invention, and the objects achieved by the embodiments of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and the contents described in the accompanying drawings. In understanding the drawings, it should be noted that like parts are intended to be represented by the same reference numerals as much as possible. And detailed description of known functions and configurations that are determined to unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention is omitted.

(Example)

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plasma reactor having a multiple discharge chamber of the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is a perspective view of a plasma reactor of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are front and side cross-sectional views of the plasma reactor of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the plasma reactor 10 of the present invention includes a generator body 20 having a plurality of independent plasma discharge chambers 21. The generator body 20 is coupled to a transformer 40 for transmitting electromotive force for plasma discharge to the plasma discharge chamber 21. The transformer 40 has a magnetic core 41 and a primary winding 42 installed across the plasma discharge chamber 21. The portion of the magnetic core 41 positioned inside the plasma discharge chamber 21 is entirely wrapped and protected by the core protection tube 45. Primary winding 42 is electrically connected to a power source 60 that provides radio frequency power.

The plurality of plasma discharge chambers 21 has, for example, a structure in which two are arranged in parallel at the top and two are arranged in parallel at the bottom thereof so that four plasma discharge chambers 21 are arranged in two stages in parallel. The reactor body 20 is composed of a gas inlet 22 having a plurality of holes opened to the upper two plasma discharge chamber 21. The gas outlet 25 opened downward from the two lower plasma discharge chambers 21 is formed. A connecting passage 23 having a plurality of holes interconnecting the upper and lower plasma discharge chambers 21 is configured. As such, a gas flow path is formed between the gas inlet 22 and the gas outlet 25 via the plurality of plasma discharge chambers 21 in multiple stages and in parallel.

The gas distribution unit 30 may be configured at the upper portion of the reactor body 20 to uniformly supply the gas. The gas distribution section 30 includes a gas inlet 31 connected to a gas source (not shown) and one or more gas distribution plates 32 for evenly dissolving the gas. The gas flowing into the plasma discharge chamber 21 is selected from the group including an inert gas, a reactive gas, and a mixed gas of the inert gas and the reactive gas. Or other gases suitable for other plasma processes may be selected.

The reactor body 20 is vacuum insulated from the core protection tube 45 by the vacuum insulating member 44. The reactor body 110 is constructed of a metallic material, for example a metallic material such as aluminum, stainless steel or copper. Or coated metal, for example anodized aluminum or nickel plated aluminum. Or refractory metal. Alternatively, it is also possible to reconstruct the reactor body 20 with an insulating material such as quartz, ceramic, or other materials suitable for carrying out the intended plasma process.

If the reactor body 20 comprises a metallic material, it includes one or more electrically insulating regions 27 to have electrical discontinuities in the metallic material to minimize eddy currents. For example, as shown in the figure, an insulating region 27 can be formed across the periphery of each plasma discharge chamber 21.

The magnetic core 41 is shared in at least two plasma discharge chambers 21 and has a mounting structure in which a portion of the core is exposed to the outside of the reactor body 20. The magnetic core 41 is made of ferrite material but may be made of other alternative materials such as iron and air.

The core protection tube 45 is made of a dielectric material such as quartz and ceramic. Alternatively, the core protection tube 45 may be made of the same metal material as the reactor body 20 as described above, in which case it includes one or more electrically insulating regions to have electrical discontinuities to prevent eddy currents.

3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a core protection tube and a cooling tube mounted to a magnetic core, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views of the magnetic core in which the core protection tube and the cooling tube are mounted.

Referring to the drawings, the magnetic core 41 is equipped with a coolant supply pipe 44 for forming a coolant supply channel. Alternatively, the cooling water supply channel 43 may be formed through the center of the magnetic core 41. Alternatively, both the cooling water supply pipe 44 and the central cooling water supply channel 43 of the magnetic core 41 may be formed. Alternatively, it is possible to form a plurality of coolant channels 26 in the reactor body 20. 4A is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a coolant supply channel 43 is formed at the center of the magnetic core 41 and a coolant supply pipe 44 is also installed inside the core protection tube 45. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which only the coolant supply pipe 44 is installed. Cooling water supply pipe 44 may be made of a metal material, it is preferable to have an insulating region 48 to prevent the eddy current is induced in the cooling water supply pipe 44.

2A and 2B, the current of the primary winding 42 is driven by the power supply 60. The drive current of the primary winding 42 induces an AC potential inside the plasma discharge chamber 21 to form an inductively coupled plasma that completes the secondary circuit of the transformer 40. Then, the inductively coupled plasma is formed in the plasma discharge chamber 21 so as to surround the outside of the core protection tube around the core crossing portion in each plasma discharge chamber 21. In the figure, reference numeral '46' denotes an electric field induced by the magnetic core 41, and reference numeral '47' denotes an electric field induced secondarily by the induction electric field 46.

Power supply 60 is configured using an RF power supply capable of controlling the output voltage without a separate impedance matcher. Alternatively, it can be configured using an RF power source that allows the impedance to be matched by a separate impedance matcher.

In the plasma reactor 10 of the present invention, a plurality of magnetic core cross sections are positioned inside the plasma discharge chamber 21, and thus the transfer efficiency of the inductive coupling energy coupled to the plasma is very high. In addition, since the plurality of plasma discharge chambers 21 are arranged in multiple stages, it is possible to easily obtain a high density plasma without excessive increase in radio frequency power.

5A-5C are front cross-sectional views showing various modifications of the gas flow path, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are bottom perspective views showing embodiments of the gas outlet.

Referring to FIG. 5A, according to one modification, the gas collecting region 50 may be configured as the centers of the four plasma discharge chambers 21. In the gas collection region 50, the plasma gases generated in the two plasma discharge chambers 21 at the upper end are collected, and are dispersed and input into the plasma discharge chamber 21 at the lower end.

Referring to FIG. 5B, according to another modified example, the gas collecting region 52 may be configured under the two plasma discharge chambers 21 at the bottom. In the gas collecting region 52, the plasma gases generated in the two lower plasma discharge chambers 21 are collected and output through one gas outlet 25.

Referring to FIG. 5C, according to another modified example, one gas outlet 25 is configured and a gas discharge path 54 connected to two plasma discharge chambers 21 at the bottom thereof is provided.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the gas outlet 25 may be configured as a gas outlet 25a in the form of a slit opened at the bottom of the reactor body 20. Alternatively, it may consist of a circular gas outlet 25b comprising the flange structure shown in FIG. 6b.

7 illustrates an example in which a plasma generator is mounted in a process chamber.

Referring to FIG. 7, the plasma reactor 10 is mounted in the process chamber 70 to remotely supply plasma to the process chamber 70. For example, it may be mounted outside the ceiling of the process chamber 70. The plasma reactor 10 receives a radio frequency from a radio frequency generator 72 which is a power source, receives gas by a gas supply system (not shown), and generates an active gas.

The process chamber 70 receives an active gas generated in the plasma reactor 10 and performs a predetermined plasma treatment. The process chamber 70 may be, for example, a deposition chamber performing a deposition process or an etching chamber performing an etching process. Or an ashing chamber for stripping the photoresist. In addition, it may be a plasma processing chamber for performing various semiconductor manufacturing processes.

In particular, the plasma reactor 10 and the radio frequency generator 72 as a power supply source for supplying radio frequencies have a separate structure. That is, the plasma reactor 10 is configured to be fixed to the process chamber 70, the radio frequency generator 72 is configured to be separated from the plasma reactor 10. The output terminal of the radio frequency generator 72 and the radio frequency input terminal of the plasma reactor 10 are remotely connected to each other by a radio frequency cable 74. Therefore, unlike the conventional radio frequency generator and the plasma reactor is composed of a single unit can be installed very easily in the process chamber 70 and can improve the maintenance efficiency of the system.

8A-8D are diagrams showing variations of the plasma generator.

As shown in FIGS. 8A to 8D, various plasma reactors 10a to 10d according to another variation may have two plasma discharge chambers arranged vertically (FIG. 8A) or horizontally (FIG. 8D). Alternatively, a plurality of plasma discharge chambers may be vertically arranged in parallel (FIG. 8B) or horizontally arranged in parallel (FIG. 8C).

There will be many other variations in addition to the above modifications, but it will be appreciated that these modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but this is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains have various modifications and equivalent embodiments. You can see that it is possible. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

According to the plasma reactor having the multiple discharge chamber of the present invention as described above, the plasma reactor has a plurality of magnetic core cross section is located inside the plasma discharge chamber, the transfer efficiency of the inductive coupling energy coupled to the plasma is very high. Moreover, since a plurality of plasma discharge chambers are arranged in multiple stages, it is possible to easily obtain a high density plasma without excessive increase in radio frequency power.

Claims (16)

A generator body having a plurality of independent plasma discharge chambers; A transformer having a magnetic core and a primary winding installed across the plasma discharge chamber; A core protection tube surrounding and protecting the magnetic core portion positioned inside the plasma discharge chamber; And Includes a power source connected to the primary winding, The current of the primary winding is driven by the power source, and the driving current of the primary winding induces an AC potential that forms an inductively coupled plasma that completes the secondary circuit of the transformer, and the inductively coupled plasma is the core protection tube. Plasma reactor having a multiple discharge chamber formed in the plasma discharge chamber to surround the outside of the. The method of claim 1, further comprising a gas inlet connected to the at least one plasma discharge chamber and a gas outlet connected to the at least one other plasma discharge chamber, A plasma reactor having multiple discharge chambers comprising connecting passages for interconnecting two plasma discharge chambers. 3. The plasma reactor of Claim 2, wherein the reactor body comprises a multiple discharge chamber comprising a gas collection region connected to at least two chamber connection passages. 3. The plasma reactor according to claim 2, further comprising a gas distributor for evenly distributing and supplying gas to the water inlet. 2. The plasma reactor of Claim 1 having multiple discharge chambers comprising two or more separate multiple gas outlets. The plasma reactor of claim 1, wherein the generator body comprises a metallic material, the metallic material comprising one or more electrically insulating regions that have electrical discontinuities in the metallic material to minimize eddy currents. The plasma reactor of claim 1, wherein the core protection tube has multiple discharge chambers comprising a dielectric material. The plasma reactor of claim 1, wherein the core protection tube comprises a metal material and the metal material includes one or more electrically insulating regions that have electrical discontinuities in the metal material to minimize eddy currents. The plasma reactor of claim 1, wherein the plasma discharge chamber has a multiple discharge chamber including a coolant supply channel installed inside the core protection tube. 10. The plasma reactor of claim 9, wherein the cooling water supply channel comprises a metal material and the metal material includes one or more electrically insulating regions that have electrical discontinuities in the metal material to minimize eddy currents. The plasma reactor of Claim 1, wherein the plasma chamber has multiple discharge chambers including a coolant supply channel formed through a central portion of the magnetic core. The plasma reactor of claim 1, comprising an impedance matching circuit configured between the power supply and the primary winding to perform impedance matching. The plasma reactor of Claim 1, wherein said power source has multiple discharge chambers that operate without an adjustable matching circuit. The plasma reactor of claim 1, further comprising a process chamber for receiving and receiving plasma gas generated from the generator body. The generator of claim 14, wherein the generator body has a structure that can be mounted in a process chamber, and wherein the power supply has a structure that is physically separate from the generator body. A plasma reactor having a multiple discharge chamber in which the power source and the generator body are remotely connected by a power connection cable. The plasma reactor of claim 1, wherein the gas flowing into the plasma discharge chamber has a multiple discharge chamber selected from the group consisting of an inert gas, a reactive gas, and a mixed gas of an inert gas and a reactive gas.

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